St. Pete police want to identify Publix 'Manbun Creeper'

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Police say a man was walking around a Publix recording video up women's skirts as they shopped. It happened Tuesday April 3, around noon, at the store on Roosevelt Blvd.

Surveillance video shows the man, standing in the checkout line behind a woman in a black dress. He crouches down once, as if he's studying the candy display. A few seconds later, he does it again, this time, for a bit longer. You can clearly see a cell phone in his left hand. He does it a third time. All the while, the woman has no idea. After that, he stands up and walks away.

Next, you see him in a refrigerated aisle boldly walking behind a woman in a dress, bringing his hand to the floor and bringing it back up. But, the woman here did notice and alerted Publix management, who called St. Pete police.

"What we can see in the surveillance video is him with what we believe to be a cell phone," said Samantha Williams, spokesperson for St. Petersburg police. "He just kind of puts it on the floor and we presume he is taking photos up these women's dresses."

Luckily, surveillance cameras got clear shots of the man's face. He was wearing a dark-colored button-up shirt, tan pants and his hair in a bun. That's why police are calling him the "Manbun Creeper."

"He's sneaky about it," Williams said, "and at least one of the victims didn't notice."

Police hope that if the woman in the black dress recognizes herself in this video, she will give them a call.

"We don't think she knows what happened or that she's actually a victim," Williams said.

It's an unsettling sight for shoppers who'd prefer checking their over grocery lists without checking over their shoulders.

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"That's absurd, that's terrible," said Teisha Savickas. "It's such a small community here."

"Yeah, that's messed up," said Erica Schwartz. "It's surprising but it's not because stuff like that happens all the time I feel like. It just doesn't get caught because people are pretty smooth about it."

As always, police remind everyone to be aware of your surroundings. even in the dairy aisle. If you notice someone acting strangely, call 911 immediately and avoid confronting the person, which could make the situation more dangerous.

If you recognize the man in the surveillance video, call St. Pete Police at 727-893-7780, or text SPPD plus your tip to TIP411.